This sweet vintage cabbage roses lithograph is by the Victorian artist Jean Baptiste Robie (see biography below). It is entitled Fragrance in Bloom, and showcases a freshly-gathered loose bouquet of Summer flowers. Look closely, there is a tiny honeybee on the snowball viburnum hydrangea, and a little songbird at the bottom. The color hues are wonderful, unfaded and beautiful. The artwork is indeed superb in the style of old garden roses.

This piece was printed on a linen canvas and is circa 1940. It was made to resemble an actual painting (much like the giclee's of today), and does not have glass, but it can be easily added if you so desire. The print is housed in a vintage wood frame with scrolled gesso embellishments. The print is in VG+ condition, the frame is in VG condition, with very light wear for a piece of its age. It is all intact. Overall size is large at 18.5 x 22.5 inches, ready to hang.

Artist Biography:

Jean-Baptiste Robie [1821-1910] was a Belgian still-life, flower and landscape painter. He studied at the Brussels Academy with Balthasar Tasson and became friends with Theodore Fourmois. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, visiting Italy, Spain, France and Germany, and further journeys took him to the Middle East. But it was in India that he stayed the longest. He described his travels in the book Les Débuts d’un Peintre, published in 1886.

In 1861 he was made a Knight of the Order of Leopold, advancing to the status of Officer in 1869 and Commander in 1881. He was also a Knight of the Légion d’Honneur.

Between 1843 and 1875 he frequently exhibited at the Brussels Salon, where he won a gold medal and a third-class medal in 1850. He participated in the 1880 exhibition at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, held in honour of the fifth anniversary of the unification of Belgium. He further exhibited in Antwerp and Ghent. In 1863 J. B. Robie made his debut at the Paris Salon and exhibited at the World Fair in Paris in 1885.